By Mike Renzella | The Haldimand Press
July 17, 2025
PORT DOVER—It’s double the laughs and double the fun on the stage of Port Dover’s iconic Lighthouse Theatre this month, with ‘Hidden Treasures,’ a collection of two one-act plays written by Canadian playwright Norm Foster and brought to the stage with energy and style by Lighthouse’s newest Artistic Director, Jane Spence.
Over the course of a breezy two hours, the two shows are brimming with non-stop, fast paced zingers aplenty, performed with gusto by a quartet of seasoned performers.
First up is ‘My Narrator.’ In the opening act, patrons are introduced to Lacy and Miles, played by Jennifer Dzialoszynski and David Leyshon, a pair of down on their luck adults who stumble into each other’s lives through a chance encounter.
Spicing up this love story are the two characters’ inner narrators, performed by Melanie Janzen and Stephen Sparks. The play smartly inserts the narrators into every scene, offering biting criticism of the unfolding romance, and later flipping the script in surprising and humorous ways.
All four actors acquit themselves well, clearly relishing the juicy one-liners and awkward moments served up to them through Foster’s inspired script.
The show marks Dzialoszynski’s Lighthouse debut. Given her perfect comedic timing and shining presence on the stage, it likely won’t be her last time under the bright lights.
A short intermission later (with a stop at Lighthouse’s well-stocked bar for a signature show-exclusive cocktail or a cold craft beer), the lights rise on the show’s second act, titled, ‘The Death of Me.’
In it, John (played by Leyshon) finds himself sitting in an all-white office facing none other than the Angel of Death herself, played by Janzen in a role that brings to mind Elizabeth Hurley’s turn as the devil in the 2000’s era comedy classic ‘Bedazzled.’
This grim reaper may have the hood and the scythe, but she also has a wicked sense of humour and is prone to granting her victims a second chance if they really deserve it.
John, faced with his untimely death, finds himself pleading his case with urgency, worried that in his attempts to be a nice, good person, he lived a life that left no mark. Given 12 hours to go back and change that fortune, John embarks on a mission that brings him in contact with the woman who left him on the altar years prior, played by Dzialoszynski, and a checked-out doctor, played by Sparks, who cares more about the ingredients in his lunch sandwich than he does about the aneurysm that’s set to end John’s life for the second time in mere hours.
It’s a madcap story with a good, timely message about the decisions we all make in life and where they lead us.
Taken together, the two shows make for a fun, highly entertaining evening out of the house. Director Spence keeps the action flowing brilliantly with a simple, versatile, and brightly colourful set that is easily re-arranged and re-purposed throughout the runtime by the actors onstage.
Foster credited Spence with the idea of combining the two plays, written in 2007 and 2008, stating, “I’m so pleased with the result.”
‘Hidden Treasures’ will be on the Port Dover stage until July 26, and then at Port Colborne’s Roselawn Theatre from July 30 to August 10. For tickets or more information, visit lighthousetheatre.com or call the box office at 1-888-779-7703.
After studying journalism at Humber College, Mike Renzella desired to write professionally but found himself working in technical fields for many years. Beginning in 2019 as a freelancer, he joined the team full-time later that year. Since then, Mike has won several awards for his articles thanks to his commitment to presenting an unbiased, honest look at the important news and events shaping our community.
